A lovely heartwarming story set in Greece with great descriptions of the local food.

Three friends visit a little village, each has their own turmoil and worries. A book about self discovery but also a love letter to the Greek culture. A wonderful immersive summer read.

Set in Greece. Maria, Kayla and Alexandra’s story is centred around Food and cooking.
Maria has established a successful cookery school, and Kayla and Alessandra attend as pupils,
This is a magical story, locations come alive to the reader and the story is beautiful
Highly Recommended
Thank you to Netgalley, Avon Books and Emma Cowell for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

Three women, all facing their own demons. Maria has been running her cooking school in Greece for ten years, having come back from New York with both physical and emotional scars. However, the village she grew up in is not very keen to have her back. Kayla is a celebrity chef who has come to Greece to interview Maria. However, secrets and past trauma threatens to bring her perfect life down around her. Alessandra is bold and doesn’t hold back but behind the bravado lies heartbreak. The book's background was Greece...I couldn't ask for a better place for a novel. Recommended.

This book was very cosy and wholesome. I absolutely loved the MC. I also admire the authors writing style. It was mesmerising and spellbinding.

It's rare to find a book that is both heartwarming and mouthwatering! Delightful story of friendships in an idyllic setting. Highly recommended.

This book took me a couple of attempts to get in to it as I found the 3 different people and timescales at the beginning very confusing and offputting. I perservered with it and was really glad I did.
Maria's story is a slow-burner but along with Kayla and Alessandra's story, the book sets a gentle pace and makes for a relaxed read in-line with it's greek setting.
Enjoyable!

This is a story of friendship, forgiveness and above all FOOD. I loved Emma Cowell's first novel and this one has not disappointed either. She perfectly depicts the Greek country, culture and culinary delights. The perfect summer read. I almost think it's a testament to a book when you don't want to leave the characters behind and long to know what happens to them next and I definitely feel this, especially for some of the side characters like Zoe, Athena and Arianna. Highly recommend

This book features three women who are very different from each other, but all share one thing, they have secrets that they are trying to escape from. I loved reading about their lives and what they were trying to hide from.
This is a well written book, it did take a while to get to know the three women, but I soon became engrossed.
I loved the setting and the food descriptions. I really wanted to visit a Greek restaurant after reading this book. This us a heartwarming and interesting read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC.

The download date was unfortunately missed, I would be happy to re-review if it became available again. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description as they both appeal to me. I would be more than happy to re-read and review if a download becomes available. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

The perfect summer read, three women meet at a cookery school in a small village in mainland Greece, Petalidis. The author gently uncovers their pasts in this gorgeous setting, where their relationships with each other and acceptance of their differences start to develop.

This book is full of warmth, friendship and gorgeous Greek food! It was pure escapism as I felt I was there as soon as I read a few pages, with the descriptions of the bees, Maria’s cooking school and the beach.

This one gets all the stars from me and I’m off to buy Emma Cowell’s other book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A sweet book about three women coming together. This was a fairly long book but very well written. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Wow, I loved this book from start to finish and did not want it to end. The setting is so well described, the characters complex and interesting the plot a page turner. Loved every minute of reading this novel.

This was a super sweet book about finding oneself and friendship. I enjoyed the three main characters and love when a book has a touch of magical realism. Great book for summer!

The perfect summer read!

I loved this book, feeling a bit sad now I have to say goodbye to some wonderful characters.

After a successful career running her own restaurant in New York, Maria has returned to her idyllic hometown in Greece and now runs a cookery school from her childhood home that she shares with her mother Eleni.

Despite putting the village on the international map, the local villagers are quite hostile towards her and have never really welcomed her back into their fold.

In the run up to Easter, she hosts a week of tuition for Kayla, a good writer from London and Alessandra, a dancer from Rome.

All three women in the kitchen have secrets and turmoil, they are all very different, but over the course of the week and over some amazing food, they become unlikely friends and their lives change as they help each other deal with adversity.

A wonderful story, with many twists and turns, set in the beautiful Greece mainland.

Let this book transport you to Greece and join the girls on their journey.

A must read for the summer.

I was drawn to this for the beautiful Greek setting and the promise of some delicious food wrofong but sadly the characterisation was quite weak and I couldn't really connect with the characters. Also, and I never thought I'd say this as a fan of whimsy but, perhaps little too whimsical!?

Having read and loved One Last Letter From Greece by Emma Cowell, I was very much looking forward to reading The House in the Olive Grove. I have not been disappointed as it is the most gorgeous read!
I have never been to Greece, but I felt like I was there as I read this book. Petalidi sounds like the most gorgeous place and the food sounds divine!
Maria is a lovely character. Imagine living somewhere so beautiful and running a successful cookery school from your home. Getting to cook and eat delicious food as a job sounds amazing. Tie that in with meeting new and interesting people. It really does sound like a dream come true. Her life isn’t without sadness and troubles though. I did really feel for her.
Maria’s most recent clients, Kayla and Allesandra, are both intriguing characters. Chalk and cheese would be an understatement! They don’t get off to the best start, but that is before they get to know more about each other. I loved how their friendship develops.
I enjoyed the relationship Maria shares with her sharp, straight talking, mother. I admire Maria for staying true to herself although I was hoping she’d find love as much as her mother was.
I loved Maria’s relationship with her bees too. I’d love a beehive in my garden.
All three ladies have their crosses to bare and there are some heart-wrenching scenes throughout this story. It’s heart-breaking at times, but so very heart-warming for the most part.
The House in the Olive Grove is a story of friendship, love, courage, acceptance, and hope. I LOVED it!
**Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley**

This story centres around three women, Maria, Alessandra and Kayla, all successful in their own right, each with their own secret to hide. Maria set the cookery school up when she returned from New York with emotional & physical scars. Meeting at Maria’s cookery school in Greece, they form an unusual friendship, and they work together to unburden their lives & make changes.
At first, I thought, another cookery school story, but this book felt very different. I liked all three women & learning about their lives. The description of the beautiful village in Greece makes you want to visit & try the delicious food on offer.
Lovely book & very suitable for a holiday read.

The House in The Olive Grove by @emmalloydcowell a NetGalley read. Set in Petalidi Greece, Maria is running a very successful cookery school. Although on the surface Maria seems in control and contented she’s also running from her past. Kayla and Alessandra join Maria’s cookery school, both running from their own secrets but they get so much more than they could have every thought possible from the school. I finished reading this last wk, but have been away and I definitely recommend as a holiday read. I loved this authors first book and even though personally I preferred the first book, this is also great. The author is great at getting the story, it’s characters and it’s location to jump of the pages, making them feel tangible and real. I loved the aspect of something beyond the hear and now, something more after we all die this part really appealed to me and I couldn’t put it down. The three main characters are three woman, three strong, successful and formidable woman, stronger than they know. All three woman from the outside in seem to have it all held together, confident it what they are doing in life, yet as the story develops not all is as it seems and we then see these woman go through this amazing journey, a journey that isn’t a case of quick fixes but there’s a raw honesty. This book will give you the feels, you will laugh and reach for the tissues and you without a doubt won’t want to put it down or even want it to finish. As I said a great holiday read, one I will be recommending and again can’t wait to see what’s next from this author ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A beautiful story about friendship, acceptance and forgiveness.

Maria runs a cooking school in her native Greece, having returned home from New York after her marriage ended. Kayla, a famous British TV chef and Alessandra, a beautiful and feisty Italian dancer, are Maria’s guests for the week and they have no idea how much they will need each other.

Maria has a beautiful spiritual connection to people, food and her beloved bees. But someone wants her to leave and is leaving sinister threats.

Kayla has just discovered a huge betrayal and struggles with living her life in the celebrity spotlight; “It’s the worst thing to be judged or rejected just for being who I am”

Alessandra’s shocking revelation about her marriage causes tensions, until the three women are drawn together when her secret is revealed.

I absolutely loved the descriptions of the scar on Maria’s neck, which she describes as the “Scar of the Americas”.
📚“Her eyes travel down my neck through the Florida Keys to Hawaii”.
📚“I feel my scar tickle around Cape Cod to Vermont”.

I did work out who was threatening Maria very early on, but the story is so much more than a “whodunnit”. It’s an emotional rollercoaster and I highly recommend it.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I absolutely adore books like these! This is a story of female friendships, of self-discovery and of asking yourself what life is all about, set in the amazing country of Greece.

Chef Maria runs a cooking school in her home town of Petalidi, Greece. On the surface, she has it all together and she is an inspired cook, however, the scars that she has aren't only on her skin.

Kayla is a very successful cook in the UK, known by a lot of people, with a successful marriage, a child and a business. However, there are cracks in her life that she would rather not examine too closely.

Alessandra was a dancer, an Italian woman who does what she wants, without thinking about the consequences. She shares her stories with the others, without actually sharing the most important thing about herself.

These three women, all very different, come together at Maria's cooking school. Learning new recipes, sure, but learning more about each other and themselves in the process.

A beautifully written novel, this is not some lightweight story about women at a cooking school, it goes much deeper than that. And I loved it. I also wanted to go to a Greek restaurant, immediately.

5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books.